10
MAGYAR KÉTFARKÚ KUTYA PÁRT v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT
Court notes the argument of the domestic courts, reiterated by the
Government, that this measure had not infringed the applicant political
party’s right to freedom of expression since this latter had not engaged in
political speech itself.
36. The Court has consistently emphasised that Article 10 guarantees the
right to impart information and the right of the public to receive it (see,
amongst other authorities, Observer and Guardian v. the United Kingdom,
26 November 1991, §§ 59(b), Series A no. 216 and Guseva v. Bulgaria,
no. 6987/07, § 36, 17 February 2015). It also held that the freedom of
expression includes the publication of photographs (see Von Hannover
v. Germany (no. 2) [GC], nos. 40660/08 and 60641/08, § 103, ECHR 2012).
Moreover, Article 10 applies not only to the content of the information but
also to the means of transmission or reception since any restriction imposed
on the means necessarily interferes with the right to receive and impart
information (see, for example, Öztürk v. Turkey [GC], no. 22479/93, § 49,
ECHR 1999-VI).
37. The Court notes that the mobile phone application was developed by
the applicant political party precisely for voters to share, by information and
communication technologies, opinions through anonymous photos of
invalid ballot papers. Thus the mobile phone application in the present case
possesses a communicative value and thus, for the Court, constitutes
expression on a matter of public interest, as protected by Article 10 of the
Convention. Moreover, in the present case, the Court is satisfied that what
the applicant political party was reproached for was precisely the provision
of the means of transmission for others to impart and receive information
within the meaning of Article 10 of the Convention. It considers that the
actions taken by it are afforded protection under Article 10 § 1 of the
Convention and that, consequently, its sanctioning interfered with its right
to freedom of expression (see Neij and Sunde Kolmisoppi v. Sweden (dec.),
no. 40397/12, 20 June 2012). Such interference breaches Article 10 unless it
was “prescribed by law” and pursued one or more of the legitimate aims
referred to in Article 10 § 2.
(b) Whether the interference was justified
(i) Lawfulness
38. The Court reiterates that, according to its settled case-law, the
expression “in accordance with the law” not only requires that the impugned
measure should have some basis in domestic law, but also refers to the
quality of the law in question, requiring that it should be accessible to the
person concerned and foreseeable as to its effects (see Paradiso and
Campanelli v. Italy [GC], no. 25358/12, § 169, ECHR 2017).
39. Although the applicant argued that the Guidelines of the National
Election Commission had no binding force, the Court does not consider that
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents